I am trying to find out if it is worth buying CS3 in stead of elements 6. Surprisingly, nobody has been able to tell me what the difference exactly is.
The best I got so far was that elements is a trimmed down version of CS3 but what more can I do with CS3?
As I am in England, CS3 would cost me about $1100, as opposed to $650 in the US, which is a bit much if you don’t know exactly what you get for that amount.
It says something on the adobe features section about BETTER raw processing, but not compared to what. Old version? Other software? Better than nothing?

I will be running it under XP, and the only use will be to optimise images from a digital camera in RAW format, 90%, and a jpeg (10)%, partially for web use, partially for prints.
The most common things are:
Correcting exposure when pics are unevenly lit.
Correcting color temperature.
Removing unwanted parts of a picture e.g. somebody stepping into the picture, advertising signs or copyrighted material.
Altering color of small parts of an image like that of a single flower in a bouquet.
Removing blemishes in portraits.

The photos will always stay single photos, I can not foresee any use for slide shows, animations, video or anything related.

From what I have been able to find out so far, it seems that Elements 6 will do all this and I don’t need to spend the extra $1000, or should I?

I have not used Photoshop Elements since version 2.0. In that version it was very similar to Photoshop as far as how the interface was designed. There were a few key elements that were missing such as the Curve adjustment. It is my understanding that there is a free download available from a third party source that will provide that capability.

As far as Camera Raw is concerned, you only have the adjustments that are on the basic panel and the details panel. That means you don't have all of the hue/saturation/luminance adjustments, or lens correction, or the capability to create presets, or to calibrate ACR specifically for your camera. As I understand it, it is not possible to load multiple images into ACR so that you can apply changes to all of them at once. And I don't believe you have the option of working in ACR in 16-bit mode.

With Photoshop Elements it is not possible to record actions to enable you to do batch processing of your images. What you have is a good quality basic single image photo editor.

I cannot tell you which to purchase. I don't know what you are accustomed to, nor do I fully understand your expectations. There are trial versions of both programs that you can download and try for 30 days to see what you think. They are fully functioning programs for that trial period, which should be ample time for you to determine which program will give you the most value.

Based on what your needs are, I would go w/ Elements and save your $$. I use both V6 & CS3, and will go eventually to Lightroom but thats another story. Elements is a surprsingly good low cost photo editor in my opinon. It has the latest Ver. Camera Raw which is where you'll do all your global processing. And remember w/ PS your paying for all that graphics dev capability that most photog's dont use... One really great feature you will not get w/ Elements is Curves adj., however, you have Levels and for local adj -- dodge & burn i.e. , just use a mask w/ levels -- and that works great ...
SteveB

Hello,
I think this is a good question.
I think the best solution is to download the free trial version and just compare the two editors. Doing so you can apply it for your specific needs.
I'm also saying this 'cause I'm convinced most people use only one editor and aren't able to compare these two versions.
Furthermore I used to work with elements or a lite version whatever..
and I must say I never regretted having bought the full version.
I agree it is a lot of money.
Regards,